Container



Feb. 14, 1939. H. K. POWELL 2,146,984

A CONTAINER Filed sept. 28, 1954 2 sheets-sheet 1 Feb. 14, 1939. H, K PQWELL 2,146,984

' CONTAINER Filed Sept. 28, 1934 2 -Sheets-Shea?I 2 Patented Feb. `14, 1939 HenryK. Powell, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Morris Paper Mills, Chicago, IIL, a corporation of lllinois Application September 28, 1934, Serial No. 745,870

6Claims.

The present invention pertains to containers or cartons of the type customarily employed for merchandising purposes and has particular reference to an improved type of container having a transparent facing sheet and a relatively rigid backing member composed of cardboard or a like material.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a display container which is economical of manufacture, attractive in appearance and easily assembled or set up.

An additional object is the provision of a container having a relatively rigid backing member composed of cardboard or some like material. a thin flexible, and a transparent facing sheet for encompassing the goods or commodity contained in the package, the backing member having means for interlocking with the facing sheet to retain the commodity in proper posiand facing sheet which may be interlocked to-A gether without the use of adhesives, which container may be erected and disassembled with ease.

A still further object is to provide a container having a transparent facing sheet and cardboard backing member with foldable wings for engaging the edges of the facing sheet.

These and other objects will be apparent from a consideration of the following description of a preferred embodiment of my invention and by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a package constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the package shown in Fig. 1 taken along line 2-2 thereof and showing the wing portions of the backing member in unfolded position; y

Fig. 3 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 and shows the wings of the backing member in partially folded position in engagement with the facing sheet;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 1 and shows the wings on the backing member in nally interlocked relationship with respect to the transparent facingsheet;

Fig. 5vis a view of the backing member in unfolded position;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 4 and showing a modified form of the package in which the wing members extend below the top of the commodity packaged;

(Cl. 20G-44) Fig. 'l is a side view of a modied form of the invention shown in Fig. 1 in which the side members are cut away to increase the display value of the carton;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of an additional 5 embodiment of the invention in which one of the sides of the cardboard backing member is eliminated;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9 9 of Fig. 8; l0

Fig. 10 is a sectional view of the package shown in Fig. 8 and taken along line lil-I0 thereof; and

Fig. 11 is a view of the cardboard backingv member of the container shown in Fig. 8. 15

Heretofore it has been customary to package various commodities by the use of a relatively rigid backing member composed of cardboard or some like material and a transparent facing sheet which may be a material such as regenerated cellulose. Other materials from which such facing sheets may be produced are cellulose acetate, cellulose nitrate, and certain vegetable protein substances which may be formed into a thin, exible, transparent Wrapper. Ordinarily, the commodity is placed on the cardboard backing member and the transparent facing sheet then is folded about the commodity and secured at the bottom of the backing member. In some instances, the edges of the backing 30 members are scored and folded upwardly to form protective sides for the package. The facing sheet customarily is secured to the bottom of the backing member by adhesive means which, when dry, prevents the facing sheet from being removed from the package without destruction of the package. This is of considerable disadvantage in many cases, particularly where only a portion of the commodity is consumed at the first use and where it is desirable to re-enclose the remaining portions of the commodity for protective purposes.

In accordance with my invention, the cardboard backing member is provided with means for'producing an interlock with the transparent 45 facing sheet, whereby the package may be assembled without the use of adhesives; and also,

a feature of the package is that it may be assembled and disassembled an unlimited number of times without destroying the material from which the package is constructed.

As shown in Figs. 1 vto 6 of the drawings, a cardboard backing member indicated generally at I0 is properly cut, scored and folded to form a central commodity-receiving portion III and longitudinally extending side members I2 joined to the commodity-receiving portion along the score lines I3. The outer edgesv of sides I2 are joined, along score lines I4, to the wings I5. It is preferred that these wings or facing sheetengaging panels I5 be of substantially the same width as the side members I2 as will be described hereinafter.

The side I2 adjacent one side of the commodity-receiving portion II is provided with end members I6 which are joined to the side member I2 along lines I'I. The side member I2 adjacent the opposite side of the commodityreceiving portion II is provided with end members I8 joined to the side I2 along score lines I9. At its ends the commodity-receiving portion II is joined to end aps along score lines 2|.

'I'he commodity to be packaged, as the sausages 22 shown in the drawings, are placed in proper position upon the commodity-receiving portion II. A transparent sheet 23 is placed over the commodity to form a. facing sheet for the package through which the commodity may be observed by a prospective purchaser. The dimensions of the facing sheet are such thatits side portions extending downwardly adjacent the vertical sides of the sausages are provided with attaching portions 25 which extend outwardly from the base portion I I, as will be observed in Fig. 2.

. To assemble or set up the package from the position shown in Fig. 2, the Wings I5 are folded about score lines I4 into the position shown in Fig. 3, in which the free edges or attaching portions of the facing sheet are held between wings I5 and sides I2. From this position the sides I2 are rotated about score lines I3 into the vertical position shown in Fig. 4. When the side DOrtions are rotated in this manner into vertical position, the end members I6 and I8 also are erected. To complete the closure of the package, end flaps 20 are rotated about score lines 2I into vertical position, and the end members I6 and I8 located at the respective ends of the package are rotated into a position perpendicular to the sides of the package and interlocked together in the manner shown in Fig. 1. This operation completes the erection of the container. Itwill be understood that other locking structure than that shown may be employed for securing the end flaps together.

The erected container consists of a relatively rigid backing member having a transparent facing sheet enclosing the ,commodity packaged and being releasably interlocked with the backing mem ber. In Fig. 4 it will be seen that the attaching portions of the facing sheet extend downwardly beneath the loweredges of wings I5 and upwardly between these wings and the side members I2. The commodity maintains the facing sheet adjacent the inner portions of wings I5. The frictional engagement of the parts indicated .locks the facing sheet to the backing member in a firm manner. By properly proportioning the elements of the container a sufliciently rm interlock between the facing member and backing sheet is obtained to permit the container to be inverted without loss of its contents.

If it is desired to remove all or a portion of the contents of the container, the end members I6 and I8 are unlocked and the side and wing members on one or both sides of the package are unfolded to release the facing member. After removal of the desired quantity of the contents of the container the latter again may be closed in the `manner described heretofore. 'Ihese operations may be performed any desired number of times without damage to the parts of the container.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig.` 6, the commodity extends considerably above the upwardly folded sides of the backing member. This construction allows for a better display of the commodity and reduces the amount of cardboard in the backing member.

It will be noted that wings I5 are of sumcient width to extend adjacent the commodity-receiving portion II when in set-up position. The attaching portions of the facing sheet thereby are engaged between the ends of the wings I5 and the member II. In some cases, particularly where this engagement may be of less magnitude, the width of the wings may be reduced.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. '1 the side members I2 and the wings l5 are cut away as indicated at 26 along the score lines I4 by which these members are secured together, in order to increase the display value of the container. It will be understood that this cut-away portion may be of any desired configuration. By cutting away the side of the wing portion it is possible to view the sides of the article packaged.

The display value of the container may be further increased by constructing the container as shown in Figs. 8-11. In this embodiment of the invention a cardboard backing member indicated generally at 30 is properly cut, scored and folded to form a base or article-receiving portion 3| and other parts as will be described. Adjacent one longitudinal edge of the base 3I is joined by means of score line 32 a base wing member 33 which constitutes a relatively narrow strip of cardboard. Along the score line 34 at the opposite longitudinal edge of the base member 3l is joined a side member 35. To the outer edge of the side member 35 is attached a side wing 36, a suitable score line 31 being provided between the two members.

The ends of base member 3| are provided with triangular end sections 38 which are free to rotate about-the base member along score lines 39. The end sections constitute triangles and end Wing sections 40 are joined to the hypotenuses thereof along score lines 4I. In many cases it will be desirable that the wing sections 48 be of substantially the same shape and size as the end sections 38, the purpose of which will be seen more particularly hereinafter. Along score lines 42 which form the short leg of the right-triangular sections 38 are joined locking sections 43. One of the locking sections is provided with a hook element 44 which is adapted to be folded over and interlocked with a slot 45 -in the other locking section, as will be seen more particularly in dotted lines in Fig. 10.

The container shown in Figs. 8-11 may be erected by folding the bottom wing member 33 over against the edge of a facing sheet 46, as shown in Fig. 9, to interlock this facing sheet in proper position to receive an article to be packaged. The article to be packaged, which is indicated at 41 as being a pound cake, then may be positioned over the wing 33 and the facing member which is folded about the top thereof, as

'ananas interlocked by folding over the wing member 36 and rotating the side member upwardly as described heretofore with respect to the embodiment of the` invention shown in Figs. 1-5. The ends of the facing sheet extend beyond the ends of the article to be packaged and are folded downwardly, suiilcient material being provided to partially overlay the end members 38. The extra material is interlocked by rotating the end wings 4l) about score lines 4I and rotating the end members 38 upwardly into vertical position about score lines 39. To complete the closure of the container the locking sections 43 are rotated behind side member 35 and hook 44 is engaged with slot 45.

It will be seen that upon completion of erection of the container the sides and ends of the facing sheet aresecurely locked to the rigid backing member, and the container may be placed in inverted position without loss of the contents or disturbance of the package. Additionally, the package is-highly attractive in appearance and affords an effective display of the goods contained therein. In shipping a number of the packages such as shown in Fig. 8, two of the packages may be placed with their exposed` sides together. Then, by placing a rigid separator across the tops of the packages the separator will rest along the score lines 31 of the upraised side portions 35, a rigid platform is afforded and additional packages may be placed on top of the platform.

The container is well adapted for packaging food products. By eliminating glue, the odor of the package is more attractive. The securing means between the facing sheet and backing member is such as to permit control of the tension of the facing sheet over the commodity packaged and to allow the facing member to stretch or contract. The upturned sides and ends stien the backing member and afford protection to the commodity packaged.

The structure described herein for purposes of explanation and description is such as to provide a releasable interlock between facing sheet'and backing member, and may be changed in many respects without departing from the scope of the invention. All such changes are intended to be included in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A container of the type described, comprising a transparent facing sheet, and a cardboard backing member provided with upwardly foldable side portions and end portions adapted to be interlocked together to secure said side portions at the corresponding edges of said commodity and being interlocked with said wings.

3. A container of the type described, comprising a relatively rigid backing member having an article-receiving portion, a facing sheet locking member along one edge of said article-receiving portion, a side member along the opposite edge of said article-receiving-portion, a facing sheetinterlocking wing joined to said side portion, and means for locking said side portion and wing in erect position, and a facing sheet having one edge secured between said facing sheet locking member and the article-receiving portion and another edge held between said side and wing members.

4.` A container of the type described, comprising a facing sheet, and a relatively rigid backing member having an upwardly foldable side section and a facing sheet interlocking member joined along the upper edge of said side section for engaging the edge of said facing sheet, said side member and said facing sheet interlocking member being cut away along complementary portions thereof to form a display opening.

5. A container of the type described, comprising a facing sheet, and a relatively rigid backing member having erect folded-over side portions releasably engaging a reversed edge of said facing sheet between the folded portions and complementary hook and slot portions on said side portions for maintaining said side portions in erect position.

6. A container of the type described, comprising a facing sheet having a downwardly extending edge, and a relatively rigid backing member 

